Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Armen Ashotyan has sent a letter to Norbert Rootgen, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the German Bundestag regarding media reports on a declaration on “future bilateral cooperation” signed between German defense concern Rheinmetall and the Minister of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan. The letter reads:
Over the years the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict have so far not yielded any results because of the militaristic policy pursued by the Azerbaijani authorities.
The process of peaceful resolution has been hampered by the destructive policy of Azerbaijani political leadership, as well as the manifestation of the bellicose rhetoric and unprecedented arms race, which not only violates the balance of forces, but also endangers the fragile stability of the South Caucasus region.
In this context I would like to touch upon the issue regarding the published media reports according to which the representatives of the German defense concern Rheinmetall John Taylor and the Minister of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan Yaver Jamalov signed a declaration on “future bilateral cooperation.”
Although in media publications the German company alleges that Rheinmetall will provide services that are not subject to the embargo of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, I am very concerned with the essence of such cooperation.
Taking into consideration the fact that Germany has always emphasized its commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, I am hopeful to have your interest and commitment to discuss the issues regarding the details of the mentioned cooperation.
We do believe in the friendly nature of our partnership and relations with Germany. We also believe that our partners and friends will do their best to maintain the balance in the region and the vulnerable ceasefire.
I kindly ask you to fully exercise the mechanisms of the parliamentary control over the process in the scope of the mentioned cooperation.”
